Mechanical movement for operating gate-bars



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. M. B. MILLS.

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT FOR OPERATING GATE BARS, SWITCHES, SIGNALS, AND THELIKE. No. 348,856.

Patented Sept. 7, 1886.

(B3 w MW (No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2.

M. B. MILLS. MECHANICAL MOVEMENT FOR QPE NG GATE BARS, SWITCHES,

SIGNALS, AND LIKE Pa ented Sept. 7, 1886.

,Q M L UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MORTIMER B. MILLS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MECHANICAL MOVEMENT FOR OPERATING GATE-BARS, SWITCHES, SIGNALS, AND THELIKlZ.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 348,856, datedSeptember 7, 1886.

Application filed May 3, 1886. Serial No. 200,934. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MORTIMER B. MrLLs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Mechanical Movement for OperatingGate- Bars, Switches, Signals, and the Like; and I hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

Myinvention relates to a device useful applications of which are, as atpresent known to me, for operating the vertically'swinging bars of gatesfor railway-crossings, railroad switches, and signals.

My invention consists, broadly, in a stationary support, a pivotal'armconnected there with by means of a lever fulcrumed toward one end to thepivotal arm, and pivoted towardits opposite end to the stationarysupport, and a collapsible fluid-receiver connected with a fluid-supplyand compressible between the pivotal arm and the lever.

My invention further consists in "the general construction of myimproved device; and it also consists in certain details of constructionand combinations of parts, all as hereinafter more fully set forth.

For the-sake of convenience in enabling my invention to be readilyunderstood, the following description explains its application to theswinging gate of a railroad-crossing, and it is shown in such connectionin the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a sectionalside elevation of part of a vertically-swinging gate-bar pivotallysupported upon a post, or between two posts, as indicated, one side onlyof the support being shown as broken away toward opposite ends; andFigs. 2, 3, and 4 show modifications of the construction, as representedin Fig. 1.

A is a gate-post. I prefer to form this in two parallel parts, one ofwhich, 1', only is shown, owing to the nature of the view se- IGClLBGIOillustrate the gate, between which the gate bar or arm B is pivoted upona rod, 9, to swing vertically. The rod 9 may be either rigid in itshearings or movable, to turn with the gate-bar.

O is a bar, preferably of the form shown in connection with a gate,secured or supported toward its center upon the rod or bearing 9,

which passes through it, and fixed toward one end to the post A upon across-bar,p, extendin g from one part, a, to the other,when the part isformed as indicated and hereinbefore described. tends obliquely in anupward direction across the support or post A.

The arm or gate-bar B is supported on the post by the rod g, whichextends through it either at a point to counterbalance it, asrepresented, or not, the matter of hanging the gate-bar beinghereinafter more fully referred to. The gate-bar B is hollow toward itsbase, to afford a chamber or receptable, D, preferably of the formshown, tapering toward its rear end, and containing alever, E, in thepresent instance having the form of an oblong flat piece, either of woodor. metal, fnlcrnmed toward its rear end near the rear end of thegate-bar and pivoted toward its opposite end to the lower end of a link,E, the upper end of which is pivotally connected to the free end of thebar 0.

As represented in the drawings, the gate: bar is counterbalanced. Whenthe gate is thus counterbalanced, two collapsible fluidreceivers, G, arerequired to operate it. These comprise, preferably, bags of air-tightmaterial-such as bellows cloth or rubber-of tapering form, as shown, tofit into the chamber D, having longitudinal strengthening-ribs 0,

and located on opposite sides of the lever E,

between the same and the adjacent walls of the chamber D, the latterbeing sufficiently large to receive both receivers G only when one iscollapsed and the other expanded. Both receivers G communicate by meansof pipes a and rubber-hose connections a with a fluid-pump, H, of commonconstruction, the connection being made in a manner to cause the pump byoperating it to exhaust the contents of one receiver G, and thus produceits collapse while it fills with fluid, and thus expands the otherreceiver. Air is the preferred fluid for use in operating my device,though I do not confine myself to its use.

The effect of exhausting the contents of the receiver G (shown as thelower one and collapsed in the drawings) and at the same time expandingthe other receiver is to lower the gate-bar. to the positionrepresented. This result is produced by the movement of the le From thecross-bar p the bar 0 exver E, caused by the expansion of the upperreceiver, G, which movement exerts a downward strain from the point 00where the link E is connected with the bar 0, (which, as it is to benoted, is independent of the gate-bar, except for its connectiontherewith by means of the link E and lover E,) and consequently causesthe lever E at its pivotal end as to pull upward the rear end of thegate-bar, thereby lowering the same. To raise the bar B, air isexhausted from the expanded receiver G and pumped into the collapsedone, which exerts the strain in an upward direction at the point'm,thereby causing the rear end of the gate-bar to lower, thus raising theend forward of the bearing'g, thelcverEbeingeaused to assume a verticalposition.

It is not absolutely necessary that the part E shall be in the form of apivotal link, though the construction shown is the preferred one;

but it might form a rigid part of the bar 0, as shown in Fig. 3, withthe lever E pivoted toward its lower end, or the angular part of thelever E, as shown in Fig. 4, pivoted at the point :0,- also, the bar 0might be dispensed with and the lever suitably connected with the postA, as shown in Fig. 2.

In any one of the modified constructions it is, for obvious reasons,necessary to provide a slot, as shown, in the part to which the pivot atthe forward end of the lever E is connected, since otherwise by thelever being fulcrumed to the pivoted arm and pivotally connected to thestationary support the three points of conncctionnamely, those at whichthe arm is pivoted to the support, the lever to the arm, and the leverto the supportwould constitute a triangle, each side of which would havea fixed length, and that between the two points on the stationarysupport being also fixed in position no movement could occur.

\Vhen two receivers, G, are employed, I prefer to make the connectionthereof with the air-pump H, as shown, by means of a pipe, m, providedwith an ordinary threeway cock, I, having an exhaust-opening, 00 in itsshell, and branches land Z, the oppo site ends of which connect,respectively, with the rubber tubes n. Thus, when the cock is set byhand to open communication between the pump and a receiver, G, the airfrom the other receiver may exhaust through the opening :0

If the gate-bar B is heaviest at either end, it is obvious that only onereceiver G is required to raiseor lower it, depending upon which end isthe heavier, which of course determines the side of the lever E uponwhich to place the recelver.

It is advisable in non-counterbalanced gates to have the rear endthe'heavier, so that the receptacle G in such cases is placed upon theupper or outer surface of the lever E.

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a stationary support, apivotal arm, a leverfulcrumed toward one end to the pivotal arm and pivotally connect edtoward its opposite end to the stationary support, and a collapsiblefluid-receiver confined between the said lever and pivotal arm andcommunicatingwith a suitablefluid-pump, the whole forming a newmechanical movement, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a stationary support, a bar rigidly securedthereon, a pivotal arm, a lever fulcrumed toward one end to the pivotalarm and pivotally connected toward its opposite end with the 'said bar,and a collapsible fluid-receiver confined between the said lever andpivotal arm and communicating with a suitable fluidpu1np, the wholeforming a new mechanical movement, substantially as described.

The combination of a stationary support, a bar rigidly secured thereon,a link connected toward one end with the bar, apivotal arm, a leverfulcrumed toward one end to the pivotal arm and pivotally connected withthe said link toward its opposite end, and a collapsible fluid-receiverconfined between the said lever and pivotal arm and communicating with asuitable fluid-pump, the whole forming a new mechanical movement,substantially as described.

4. The combination of a stationary support, A, a bar, 0, rigidly securedtoward one end to the support A and extending obliqucl y across thesame, alink, E, connected toward one end with the free end of the bar 0,an arm, B, supported to swing upon the support A by a bearing, 7, whichpasses through the bar 0 toward its center, a chamber, 1), in thearm B,alever, E,fulcrumed toward one end to the said arm and lying within thesaid chamber and pivotally connected with the link E toward its oppositeend, and a collapsible fluid-reeeiver, G, confined between the lever Eand adjacent surface of the chamber D and comm u nicating with asuitable fluid-pump, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination of a stationary support, A, a bar, C, rigidly securedtoward one end to the support Aand extending obliquely across the same,a link, E, connected toward one end 'ith the free'end of the bar 0, anarm, B, sup ported to swing upon the support A by a bearing, 9, whichpasses through the bar 0 toward its center, a chamber, D, in the arm B,alever, E, fulcrumed toward one end to the arm at one side of thebearing g and lying within the said chamber, and pivotally connectedwith the link E toward its opposite end, and collapsible fluid-receiversG, confined one on each side of the lever 0 within the chamber D, andcontrollably communicating with a suitable fluid-pump, H, the wholebeing constructed and arranged to operate substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

MORTIMER B. MILLS.

In presence of HENRY HUnsoN, Q J. XV. DYRENFORTH.

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